Patience
by KageOkami-Kogo
Summary: Poor little Henry misses his mother. Lincoln Lee tries to distract the boy while they wait for her to return home, they bond in the process.  Substitute Universe


Patience

**A/N**: Future-fic time! This little idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. I hope you like it!

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><p>"Daddy?" Six year old Henry asked, peering up at his father from beside his desk. A stuffed spider with big googly-eyes named Charlie by his side. He had been brought over by his grandmother when Marilyn came to visit with him... the boy was extremely attached to his father.<p>

"Hm? What's up?" Lincoln Lee answered, busy with the latest team assessment reports. Being the boss really sucked sometimes. Nothing he could do about it though, he couldn't be leaving Fringe HQ with every mission that popped up nowadays though. That also meant he didn't have Olivia or Charlie around to keep him company most days, when they _could _go out on a mission. Luckily, Marilyn and Henry visited often.

"I'm bored..." Henry whined. Lincoln paused and glanced down at his son. While Lincoln wasn't the biological father, he had been there since the day Henry was born and stayed firmly in his life until he and Olivia decided to make things official.

"Don't you have your crayons?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm tired of coloring..." Lincoln didn't think he'd seen that expression on Olivia before so he must have picked it up from him.

"Hey, that's my look..." Lincoln smiled, noting the boy's identical pout that he often unleashed on Olivia. "...This is about mommy, isn't it?" he guessed, watching his son nod his head up and down slowly.

"I miss her..." the boy sniffled.

"I do too. I'm sorry, buddy, she'll be back later today, okay?" Lincoln promised, trying desperately to avert the water-works. He hated it when Henry cried. It broke him up.

"Why did she have to go?" Henry asked, his voice wavering. Uh oh.

"I told you already, she had an important mission to go to, but she'll be back... aw, Henry, please don't cry," Lincoln reached over and, after sliding his chair back a bit, pulled his son onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around the boy and rocked him back and forth. "You'll see, mommy will be back before you know it..." he told him, kissing his forehead. "I'll tell you what, I'll be finished in a bit and then we'll go out and do something fun, how does that sound? Just us guys?" Lincoln suggested.

"Okay," Henry rubbed his eyes with a little fist and sniffled.

"That's my boy, now come on, let's see if uncle Charlie has any snacks, eh?"

"Yeah!" Henry enthusiastically agreed. After raiding Charlie's "hidden" compartment in his desk for snacks, and leaving a few bucks to pay him back, Henry settled on the floor again with his coloring book and his little spider plushie. It wasn't too much later when Lincoln finally finished for the day. One _good _thing about being the boss was that he could have shorted hours of work in a day if he needed to... he considered time with his son need enough to get out earlier. Anyway, Olivia and Charlie weren't due to report in another couple hours unless something came up.

Throughout the day, Lincoln would try to distract Henry from missing his mother, though it didn't seem to work so well, until he decided going to a fair might be a good idea. Luckily, Henry thought it was a fantastic idea. After riding several rides with his son and scarfing down hotdogs, it seemed the boys were well distracted and having fun. The day's fun had only been interrupted a few times when Charlie or Olivia reported in, but at least it'd allow Henry to talk with his mother a bit.

One such call had Henry giggling before he handed the phone back to his father. Lincoln finished with the call, exchanging affectionate words with his wife, before disconnecting the call. "Hey, what was that?" Lincoln questioned, looking down at his son when said boy continued to giggle.

"It's a secret..."

"You can tell me," Lincoln smiled.

"Nuh-uh, daddy... you can't keep a secret..." Henry countered, making his father blink.

"Who told you that?" he asked.

"Mommy, uncle Charlie, auntie Astrid, Melis-"

"Okay okay..." Lincoln interrupted. "So I have trouble keeping a secret, is that so wrong?" he muttered to himself, though Henry heard him.

"Yes," Henry answered truthfully, nodding, making Lincoln chuckle. He'd teach Henry what a rhetorical question was later.

He ruffled his son's messy blonde hair. "Alright Henry, you don't have to tell me," Lincoln smiled. Truthfully, Lincoln wasn't really sure if what Henry thought was a secret really was... most likely Olivia told him something or Charlie did. Apparently the boy got his stubbornness from his mother.

"I miss mommy..." Henry muttered.

'Crap, this kid is just as lost with Olivia as I am!' Lincoln thought in amusement. "I do too. Hey, look! Cotton candy! Want some?" He offered, grateful for the distraction.

"Yum!" Henry squealed, loving cotton candy to bits. After eating the overly-sugary treat and playing a few more games, the two headed back home. On the way home, Lincoln noticed Henry nodding off and considered himself fortunate. Henry had been difficult to put to sleep when he was still a baby, but he hadn't gotten any better so far, even after six years. Once Lincoln parked the car, Henry was fast asleep. He smiled down at Henry and quietly got out of the car. While he lifted his son up and locked the car, he checked his watch, wondering what was taking Olivia so long, and then headed inside.

After locking the door and resetting the alarm, Lincoln walked with Henry over to the couch, sitting down with him. "Daddy?" Henry yawned and looked up at his father. Lincoln smiled in response. "Is mommy home?" he asked, looking about.

"Not yet, soon, buddy, soon," Lincoln told him.

"...Can we watch some TV?" Henry asked tentatively, knowing it was probably his bedtime.

"I don't know, son, it's pretty late..."

"Please?" Henry gave him _his _pout again.

"Oh alright, just for a bit," Lincoln relented, grabbing the remote and finding something to watch. Luckily, there was a friendly family movie on so he left it on that. After a while, Lincoln noticed that Henry's breathing had become deeper and knew his son had fallen asleep again. He decided he'd wait with him on the couch for Olivia, and clean up the mess he had made with Henry earlier, later. He leaned back in the couch, holding Henry close to him and began to doze off. Before he knew it, he had joined his son in dreamland.

That was how Olivia found them, an hour later. Lincoln had one arm stretched across the back of the couch and the other held Henry to him, who was half-way on his father's lap. Olivia grinned at the scene as she reset the alarm and turned off the TV. While she noticed that the kitchen was, of course, in disarray, she decided to not bother with it right now, she knew he'd clean his mess later so she didn't push it. After she set her bag down and walked over to them, she smiled down at her sleeping son before leaning over she gently blew into Lincoln's ear, making him swat at the air in his sleep. Olivia snickered and pushed her fingers through his hair lovingly, trailing it down to his jaw.

She smiled fondly when he nuzzled her hand in his sleep. It only took a few seconds for Lincoln's eyes open. He smiled sleepily and leaned forward a little when Olivia went to kiss him hello. The couple sighed into their kiss, relieved to see each other again, before reluctantly pulling away. "Welcome home, 'Liv," Lincoln said, caressing his wife's cheek lovingly.

"Glad to be home," she responded, leaning into his touch. After a few moments, Lincoln withdrew his hand so that he could pull his son further into his arms and lift him up. Olivia followed them to Henry's room and watched Lincoln gently set the boy in his bed, stepping back. Olivia went over and tucked her son in, caressing his hair much like she had her husband's when she first came in, then leaned in to kiss his blond head, so much like her's. "Did he give you a hard time?" Olivia whispered.

"Not at all, he was the model of patience," Lincoln smiled, putting his arm around Olivia as the parents watched their beloved son who they equally adored sleep peacefully. A more perfect moment there couldn't be.

_End._

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><p><strong>End AN**: What did ya'll think? Cute, eh? I think Lincoln would make a great dad!


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